新西兰英语 629 Education U turn

 　　First listen to May 16th 2012 to hear about increases in class sizes.

　　Hekia Parata, the Minister of Education, changed her mind about increasing class sizes. This was a U turn from her earlier decision. This was surprising because government ministers do not usually change their minds.

　　Perhaps she did not realize that students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 have technology classes. These include woodwork, cooking, computers and other practical¹ classes where class sizes need to be smaller for safety reasons. The decision last month meant that many technology teachers would lose their jobs. It also meant many students would not have technology classes.

　　Parents were not happy. Teachers, both primary and secondary², were not happy.

　　Ms Parata said she had listened to parents and decided³ not to increase class sizes. Instead she will have to find another way to save $114m.

　　Vocabulary

　　to do a U turn – drivers know that this means⁴ to change directions. If you change your decision, this is doing a U turn.

　　decision (n), decide (v) – make up your mind

　　realise⁵ – know, understand

　　practical classes – where students make things

　　Word Forms

　　this was surprising; people were surprised

　　We have many adjectives⁶ like that e.g. amazing, amazed⁷; interesting, interested; tiring, tired; frightening, frightened. Can you make pairs of sentences to show how these are used?

　　Question

　　Some people say it was a mistake to change her mind; other people say she was brave to change her mind. What do you think?

1 practical   

adj.实际的，实践的；实用的，应用的；有实际经验的

参考例句：

• He is a practical person.他是位很讲实际的人。
• Your invention is clever,but not practical.你的发明很巧，但不实用。

2 secondary   

adj.中级的，中等的，次要的；n.次要位置，副手

参考例句：

• It's a question of secondary importance.这是个次要的问题。
• Secondary school means junior school and high school.中学是指初中和高中。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

5 realise   

v.觉悟；明白；实现；兑现

参考例句：

• Wish you realise your dreams as early as possible!祝愿您早日实现自己的梦想！
• How much did you realise on the house?这所房子你们出售后赚了多少钱？

6 adjectives   

n.形容词( adjective的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We can form nouns from adjectives. 我们可以用形容词来构成名词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Attributive adjectives precede the noun. 定语形容词位于名词前。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 amazed   

adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
• I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。